ATVA Lobbies on Blackout, Distant Signal, Out-of-Market Joint Negotiation Proposals
The American TV Alliance raised a litany of retransmission consent-related issues with FCC Media Bureau staff, said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 15-216. Much of the discussion involved ATVA proposals for preventing broadcasters from using blackouts for…
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leverage in contract talks and for allowing temporary import of distant signals, plus the FCC's authority to restrict out-of-market joint negotiations. ATVA also disputed NAB assertions that regulatory action on retransmission consent fees will enrich multichannel video programming distributors instead of benefit consumers (see 1601140026), citing economic evidence from AT&T/DirecTV indicating otherwise. In a statement Friday on the coalition of pay-TV and other interests backing retrans reform, NAB said: "No one should be fooled by Big Pay-TV bankrolled American Television Alliance’s claim that it is ‘pro-consumer.' Even the FCC has admitted that nothing in this proceeding will translate into cable and satellite companies lowering cable prices for consumers. The pure and simple truth is ATVA is seeking to disenfranchise broadcasters’ ability to negotiate fairly for the most-watched programming on television.” ATVA also said it discussed CBS' recent lobbying against any changes to the totality of circumstances test (see 1602110062), saying CBS' claim that broadcast programming is always available online or over the air ignores "the largest online blackout in history ... during which CBS' programming was decidedly not available to millions of Time Warner Cable Internet customers. ... If CBS has decided that it will no longer engage in such behavior, we look forward to its endorsement of ATVA's online blocking proposal." CBS didn't comment.